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18/09/2002

-It didn't take long for Marj Dusay(Pamela)'s fans to initiate a campaign to save their favorite actress. Late last week, Dusay announced that she had been released from her contract with All My Children on her online message board. Within days, fans had posted a petition, "Bring Marj Dusay Home to AMC," in hopes of keeping their favorite Pine Valley resident in town.

 

- Krista Tesreau(Andi) is reprising her role as Mindy on Guiding Light. She confirms this return will be explosive. "I begin work on Sept. 23, but they haven't given me a date when I'm done," she says as she ponders an extended run. Tesreau has been busy with another project, hosting a magazine show called Love and Romance, which is currently being shopped to national syndicators. The program focuses on anything and everything having to do with romance. "From romantic restaurants to decorating your bathroom romantically," Tesreau explains. "Sitting on a lake, in a boat, with good friends and enjoying a spectacular view and enjoying friends and family, that to me is romantic," she shares. "And when I'm with someone, it's snuggling up in bed with a movie and a bowl of popcorn."

-WANDA De JESUS(Santana Andrade) is the main partner of Clint Eastwood's new movie Blood Work. A veteran FBI profiler, McCaleb (Clint Eastwood) is felled by a massive heart attack and forced into early retirement. Two years later, a beautiful stranger (Wanda De Jeses) reveals a secret that compels McCaleb to re-examine his recovery: his life was saved by someone else's death - the victim of a murder that remains unsolved.

 

-A Martinez(Cruz) is set to exit General Hospital when his contract ends this fall. He has a new Lifetime series, For the People, where he plays passionate public defender Michael Olivas.
 

03/07/2002

Feeling nostalgic for Cruz and Eden? Missing Julia, Jade and Jodie? While these SB characters are now part of soap history, the actors who portrayed them can currently be seen on other daytime shows.

-Jed Allan (ex-C.C. Capwell, 1986-93) has been portraying Port Charles' heavenly Ed on and off since 2001.

-Eva LaRue Callahan (ex-Margot, 1988) returned to All My Children as "Maria" on June 3.

-Her husband, John Callahan(ex-Craig Hunt, 1989-91), has been AMC's Edmund since 1992.

-Signy Coleman (ex-Celeste DiNaoli, 1988-89) will reprise her role as Hope on The Young and the Restless for a few episodes beginning June 21.

-Eileen Davidson, who played the fourth Kelly Capwell from 1991-93, returned to her pre-SB role as Ashley on Y&R in 1999.

-Justin Deas(ex-Keith Timmons, 1986-88) came east to play Buzz on Guiding Light.

-Marj Dusay(ex-Pamela Capwell Conrad, 1987-8, 1990) became AMC's Vanessa in 1999.

-Nancy Lee Grahn(ex-Julia Wainwright Capwell, 1985-93) settled in as General Hospital's legal eagle Alexis in 1996.

-Vincent Irizarry(ex-Dr. Scott Clark, 1987-89) has been AMC's David since 1997 .

-Jon Lindstrom (ex-Mark McCormack, 1985-6) is PC's Kevin, a role he created on GH in 1992.

-In 1999, A Martinez(ex-Cruz Castillo, 1984-1992) cruised over to GH to assume the role of Luke's right-hand man, Roy.

-Robert Newman appeared as Kirk Cranston in 1986, but returned to GL as Josh, a part he's had on and off since 1981.

-Thaao Penghlis (ex-Marcus Disgrazia, 1992-3) returns to Days of Our Lives as Tony this summer.

-Melissa Reeves(ex-Jade Perkins, 1984) found soap stardom as Days' Jennifer, a part she's played on and off since 1985.

-In 1995, Marcy Walker (Eden Capwell, 1984-1991) reprised her role as Liza on AMC.

-Kim Zimmer(Jodie Walker, 1992-3) returned to GL in 1995 as Reva.


Christopher Norris (Laura Asher, 1989-90)


Santa Barbara  was known for being a creative paradise for actors. Was that your experience?
Norris: You had input. That is why SB attracted the caliber of actors, writers and directors that it did. It was an intensely creative effort and very collaborative. I would talk to the writers about ideas that I had and they were always very supportive. Not everything I said (was accepted), but you wouldn't expect that anyway. (One time), I was listening to a classical station and I was just transported by [a certain piece]. It really hit me and I went to the producer and said, "Do you know what would make me so very happy? Even if you don't use it for the show, but if you would play this aria while I am [taping].' I was doing such nutty things all by myself, so I didn't have a lot of dialogue. If I did it was talking in my head. I said, 'If I could just hear that it would make such a difference because that's what Laura hears in her head. He (executive producer John Conboy) said, 'Sure, of course we will do that.' But then they didn't play it on the set and that disappointed me. Later, after whatever scene I finished, John came onto the stage and called me over and said, "Come with me for a second." So we went into the mixing room and he played the scene back to me and there was the aria. Tears came to my eyes. I said, "Yes. That was my intention as an actor." They used it on the air; paid for it and everything. That's what I mean by a collaborative effort. It was a very happy, creative period for me.
Your character became really bizarre by the time you left the show. She ended up killing Sasha Schmidt and carrying her corpse around in the car.
Norris: When I first came on the show, Laura was a high school principal married to a very successful businessman. They did not have any children, but that's all you knew about her. She was pretty uptight and straight laced; all of those things you might expect from a teacher. They had the storyline as far as my son being killed and the priest (who was the boy's father). But they didn't have where my story was going. Patrick (Mulcahey, an SB writer) said to me - because we became quite good friends - "The first week that I saw you on the show, I saw so much going on behind your eyes that my mind started racing, and started realizing how important that event was to the character." And that's basically why we went off in this bizarre direction. That is one of the things that I found so beautiful about Santa Barbara. Patrick was very sensitive to what the actors brought to the words. He allowed me to lead the character. He said, "I would just follow where your intonations or eyes took me." That's a huge compliment from a writer.
And then the character had gotten so out of control, in terms of her behavior, that your time on the show ended.
Norris: Exactly. It was very sad. There was no more room. And also, by the time I left, the show had kind of taken a different turn.

Leigh McCloskey (Dr. Zach Kelton, 1988-'89; Ethan Asher, 1989-90)

You played two characters on the show with only a six-week break in between. And your first character, Zach, was Eden's gynecologist who also turned out to be her rapist. Creepy.
McCloskey: "I was thinking, 'This is going to play havoc with a whole lot of young people's brains." I thought it might not be the healthiest thing to put out there, but [people really responded to it]. Jill (executive producer Jill Farren Phelps) told me they wanted me to come on for a short-term character that was going to turn dark. And so when they made my character the rapist and he started worshipping his sister in the basement, I had so much fun. Jill gave me permission to just go for it. That's probably what I remember the most, when the character went from becoming the rapist to spiraling down into a type of madness that was just very fun to explore. I would get letters as Zach and people would say, "I hate you. I wish you were dead. I hope you stay on the show forever." That's psychology of really hitting a nerve and people wanting you at the same time. The dastardly villain turning his mustache, the audience knows how important it is. I learned a lot from that. Then, Jill said, "We want to kill you off, but we want to bring you back, and since we saw you as Zach and what you did when he went crazy, you can do anything. Why don't you come back as our DA and we won't make you related at all. We'll give you six weeks and then come back.' And that's what I did. A lot of people would still refer to Zach or they would ask whether I had something to do with the other character.

Henry Darrow (Rafael Castillo, 1989-92)

You played Cruz's father, but you also got a romantic storyline.
Darrow: The character developed quite nicely. They got me into a romance with an actress I had worked with in the past, Margarita Cordova (Rosa Andrade), and we became the senior, Latino couple for a while. That's how soaps go. I was able to do the soap over a period of two years. One of those lucky situations.


Harley Jane Kozak (Mary Duvall McCormick, 1985-86; 89)

What do you remember most about playing Mary?
Kozak: The thing I think I most remember is how much fun I had with Mason. It was such a great romance because I was this really goody-two shoes, A-student-nun and he was sort of the bad boy with the heart of gold who you're supposed to really disapprove of, but of course, everybody loves him. And just the oddness of their becoming a couple and people rooting for them because they were so unalike. And he's such a great guy; he was just so much fun to work with - such a sweetheart. So that really set the stage for my entire experience.

Carrington Garland(Ex-Kelly Capwell, 1989-1991)

Who did you have the most fun working with?
Garland: I had fun with all the Capwell family members - Jed Allan (ex-C.C.) and Judith (McConnell, ex-Sophia), and Lane Davies (ex-Mason) was great. He had a wicked sense of humor. I loved working with Todd (McKee, ex-Ted). After he left the show we had a little romance, but we had so much fun when we were just friends. He went on an around-the-world trip with Lane and I met them in Switzerland. There was no snow to ski so we went parapunting, where you jump off a mountain with a parachute and then you sail through the air down a ski slope. It was wild.
Why did you leave the show?
Garland: They wanted to change Kelly. They wanted Kelly to be older and more mature, and they wanted a different person to play the part. (Eileen Davidson, Ashley, Y&R took over for Garland.) Shortly after, the show was cancelled. It had lost its charm.
 Who do you keep in touch with?
Garland: I don't keep in touch with anyone. Sometimes I see Jed. I've seen Todd once or twice in the last couple years. I've seen Shell (Danielson, ex-Laken) maybe once. But I've seen them all by accident along the way.
Overall, how was your soap experience?
Garland: It was great. The people on Santa Barbara were amazing. Looking back, I didn't realize how good I had it. It was a small group and I worked a lot - about three or four days a week. I learned so much from the show, and it helped me to grow up, too. I learned about being with people and working and being responsible. It was a big job. If I saw any of those people on the street today, it would be a big hug and "How are you? What's happening?" It would be a positive thing to see any of them.
When did you get married?
Garland: I got married four years ago in July. His name is Carlos Goodman, he's an entertainment lawyer.
 After Santa Barbara you worked in interior design?
Garland: Yes. Somebody asked me to do their house - I had no experience and I didn't know what I was doing, but I said okay. I worked until I became pregnant with my first baby (daughter Tula is 2; son Beau was born in January), and then I stopped. I did EMI Music. I did Kristen Johnson's house when she was on Third Rock From the Sun. I did Army Bernstein's house. It was great - I worked and worked and worked - and then I decided that I didn't want to do it any more. Now I'm a full-time mom.
Would you like to return to daytime?
Garland: There are times that I miss it. It would be fun to work on another show and maybe I'll pursue that, but I know that it will never be like Santa Barbara. It just won't. Santa Barbara was my first experience, and it was a great experience. I had excellent storylines and I got to work with great actors - Jed was a great actor, Judith was fabulous, Roscoe (Born) was amazing. I grew a lot working with Roscoe. I worked with amazing people and I feel lucky that I was able to do it. So, yes, I would do another soap, but it would have to be on the West Coast. I like the shows that the Bells do (B&B and Y&R). I'd even take a recurring part because I don't know if I'd want to be away from my children all day. It would probably break my heart.

Shell Danielson (Ex-Laken Lockridge, 1990-1)

What is your most memorable storyline from Santa Barbara?
Danielson: When Laken's dad, Lionel Lockridge, came back from the dead. Her father was played by Nicolas Coster. I love him. Between Nic and Louise (Sorel, ex-Augusta) as parents, that was great.
And why did you leave the show?
Danielson: They were trying to take the show in a different direction. They brought Laken's brother back and that was Jack Wagner (ex-Warren). My last day was his first day. Then Santa Barbara went in a new direction and Warren became involved with Sydney Penny's character, B.J. Gosh, it seems like so long ago!
What do remember the most about your time there?
Danielson: I remember everyone being so wonderful. Jed Allan, who played C.C. Capwell, was great. A Martinez (Cruz), of course, was wonderful.
Who do you keep in touch with?
Danielson:  I've often wondered where Rawley Valverde (ex-Amado) is. I ran into Carrington Garland (ex-Kelly) a few years back at an audition and it was great to see her. That's it though. People dispersed.
Did you go to GH right after you left SB?
Danielson: The summer between Santa Barbara and GH, I did a series with Lee Horsley and George Clooney called Bodies of Evidence. I worked with George Clooney before he was George Clooney. (Laughs) He was a very nice man, very professional. So I had some fun and I got a little more experience and I took some classes. So at GH, I got better. Kin Shriner taught me so much.
You got married.
Danielson: Yes, I married my husband Harry (Lewis) in 1999. We have a 2-year-old daughter, Andalyn.
 

Lane Davies(ex-Mason Capwell, 1984-89)

What do you remember most about Mason?
Davies: Probably his sense of humor. If I surf around and look at the soaps today, I miss it. And it wasn't just his sense of humor, it was that the whole irreverence about the show that I miss. I don't know if the public misses it or not. But, when I think about Mason, I think about that wit they wrote into him.
You said that the Mason/Julia and Mason/Mary stories were among your favorite. What was your least favorite storyline?
Davies: Lily Light. And I think the public would agree with me. When they were trying in vain to repair the damage done by killing Harley Kozak off (ex-Mary), Mason became involved with an evangelist. They put me with this girl (Lynn Clark), who, bless her heart, was a very sweet person and not a bad actress, but the only reason they cast her was because she looked like Robin Mattson (ex-Gina). They thought that because she looked like Robin that they should make her Gina's illegitimate daughter. I was dragged into it because I was at sea after Mary got killed off. I had no chemistry with this girl - she was 12 years old or something. But it didn't last long, which was the good thing about it.
 Who did you have the most fun working with?
Davies: Probably Nancy Grahn (ex-Julia). We also wanted to kill each other, but in terms of sheer fun, she was probably the most fun to work with. Followed by Robin Mattson, who was a lot of fun. A Martinez (ex-Cruz) was fun, too, simply because our characters were so antithetical to each other. He was all about morality and being the good guy; I was the Machiavelli counterpoint.
 As a member of the original cast, do you remember it being difficult launching a new soap?
Davies: It seemed like work to me, but the executives were panicked and threatened that we would go live if we didn't start getting the shows in the can faster. That's one reason why they gave people like A, Marcy (Walker, ex-Eden) and myself so much leeway - we weren't screwing up. They had a lot of - I don't want to call them amateurs, but they were certainly novices, and they were taking up a lot of set time when we didn't have it to give. Those of us who didn't screw up, were given a lot of the load of the show. That earned us favors later on in terms having the freedom to rework the script.
There were lots of backstage shakeups during Santa Barbara's run. Did that influence your decision to leave?
Davies: No. If I was going to leave, it would have been when they got rid of the Dobsons (creators Bridget and Jerome) the first time. But, [contractually], I couldn't have left if I wanted to. I don't know if the show ever completely recovered from them leaving, simply because a lot of the shows irreverence went with them. Luckily we still had good writers that kept the show going, in spite of some shaky people at the helm for a while. We were getting back on track not long before I left under Jill Phelps' (now executive producer at General Hospital) guidance.
 So your contract was up and you decided to travel around the world with Todd McKee (ex-Ted)?
Davies: Basically, I was burnt out. The show was getting too important in some ways, and I wasn't having fun. Everything pointed to it being time to move on. So I decided to take a trip, and then come back, get married and have babies.
 Santa Barbara had a huge following overseas. Did a lot of people recognize you?
Davies: It was cool to be a major celeb over there and then be able to leave it behind. We got on a subway one time and there was our picture all of the subway. It was a little freaky, but it was fun.
 Carrington Garland (ex-Kelly) said she met up with you guys in Switzerland.
Davies: Right before the holidays, we were in Kenya and our next stop was Bombay, so we decided to go back and hang out in Paris and Switzerland for Christmas. We didn't want to spend Christmas in Bombay. My late uncle had a condo in Switzerland, so that's were we spent the holiday and Carrington came over.
 She said you guys went parapunting off a cliff.
Davies: Yes, we leapt off the Alps, which was an interesting experience for someone with acute acrophobia. It was fun. I'd do it again - maybe. I also ran with the bulls [in Pamplona], but that was a year later after our trip. Actually, I ran from the bulls. I have longer legs than most of the Spaniards and managed to stay out of the way.
Who do you keep in touch with?
Davies: I haven't talked to Todd in a couple months. We don't socialize much. After six months of traveling together, we got sick of each other. (laughs) We have some amazing stories to tell from that trip, unfortunately you can't print most of them. But I talk to Nancy and A. We use A's daughter in our plays.
You have two theatre companies?
Davies: Yes, the Santa Susanna Repertory Company and the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, that we spun off from it. They're in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
You were on The Bold and the Beautiful for a while, subbing for Ronn Moss (Ridge)?
Davies: Ronn went to do a mini-series in Europe and they offered me a very nice deal to come in and like make out with Hunter Tylo (Taylor). I thought: I can do that. That wasn't hard. It was a little tricky taking over for Ronn because we are very different actors and they kept writing for Ronn. It was like working with handcuffs on. But the overall experience was good because the Bells are great people and nobody knows daytime better than they do.
 And you are married to Holley and have two sons?
Davies: I'm divorced, but we are under the same roof. It's very amicable. They were living in their own place for a while, but now they are back here for various reasons. It's actually been quiet fun.
What's fatherhood like?
Davies: Fatherhood is great. Thatcher is almost 12 and Nathan is 10. Thatcher is really into gardening, which is one of my passions, and Nathan likes to fish. He also enjoys basketball and skateboarding, but I'm not good at those. I do play basketball with him, but if I weren't 4-feet taller than him, he'd beat me every time.
Would you consider returning to a soap?
Davies: Oh, yeah. It's funny, in the past whenever they've been ready, I've been committed somewhere else. And when I've been ready, they haven't been. It was a timing thing.
Any show in particular?
Davies: I would love to work with Jill again. And I'm old friends with Lucky Gold, the headwriter for Guiding Light. It would be great fun to work with him again. That would involve a move to New York, but I'm not adverse to that right now. My life is in a good place in terms of flexibility. The kids are a consideration, but they are pretty adventurous.
 

Judith McConnell (Ex-Sophia Capwell, 1984-93)

What do you remember about your character?
McConnell: Everything. I remember always trying to take what they wrote and make her more interesting, feistier. I wanted to give Sophia more depth and color. I was frustrated because she was so namby-pamby and nice. I remember talking to one of the writers one time and I said, "She's so nice. Everything she says sounds like it can be stitched on a pillow." And he said, 'I think of her as very wise. She has great wisdom.' And he really helped. I remember thinking: Maybe she isn't namby-pamby after all.
 Do you have any funny on-set stories?
McConnell: Todd (McKee, ex-Ted) and I used to laugh together all the time. We would always make each other laugh, like two little kids, but he was a kid. We used to giggle so hard that tears would stream down our cheeks in the middle of scenes. We were so silly. It was so much fun.
What made Santa Barbara unique?
McConnell: One reason is that we worked our asses off. Most shows worked with a schedule - they'd start at six a.m. and they'd be done at eight p.m. But from the beginning Santa Barbara had seven a.m. calls and we worked until two or three a.m. Even later on, after a couple of years, there was this drive for excellence. Jill Phelps had a lot to do with that. The concept that the Dobsons had - a 5 year story - was wonderful. They based a lot of story on classic material like Medea and Shakespeare, the Greek Tragedies. It was wonderful. They had thought about it for a long time. Until everyone who had their fingers in the pot said the show wasn't making enough money, we turned out some gorgeous work. We used to stand and watch each other on the monitors. A scene with A (Martinez, ex-Cruz) and Marcy (Walker, ex-Eden) would come up and I would just stand and watch it. I was riveted.
 Who do you keep in touch with?
McConnell: Jed Allan (ex-C.C.) and Louise (Sorel, ex-Augusta). I haven't talked to Lane Davies (ex-Mason) for a while, but we try to touch base every six months. I run into Todd. I saw him on a night-time program and he was so good. And I keep in touch with Nancy Grahn (ex-Julia). She's wonderful. That's about it.
 Do you tune in to soaps now?
McConnell: I haven't watched them that much, but sometimes I watch Nancy on General Hospital. I used to watch Louise on Days. She's a hoot.
Would you return to a soap?
McConnell: I would love to. I didn't want to when Santa Barbara first went off the air - I wasn't ready. A lot of people were talking to me, but I didn't want to. I thought: After eight years, I need a break. And my daughter, Gwen, was little. But I would love to go back to regularity of it now.

 03/07/2002

- Harley Jane Kozak (ex-Mary DuVall) gave birth to twins,Gianna and Lorenzo, on last 30 May.

02/02/2002

-When Port Charles executives were casting the role of Ed, Rafe's tough but loveable angel boss, they thought of soap veteran Jed Allan, best known for his run as patriarch C.C. Capwell on the now-defunct Santa Barbara. Allan's also remembered by Days of Our Lives fans as attorney Don Craig. The invitation to join PC came at an emotional time for Allan; last year, Toby, his beloved wife of 33 years and mother of their three sons, passed away suddenly.  In addition to his daytime credits, which include Love of Life and The Secret Storm, Allan has a slew of prime-time roles on his resume. He played Steve Sanders's controlling dad Rush on Beverly Hills 90210 and anchorman Rod Porter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
On Days, people associated you with Deidre Hall (Marlena) for so long, but you had other leading ladies on the show as well.
Yes. I worked with Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie) first. Then, I worked with Deidre when she came on. Later, I worked with Suzanne Rogers. Susan's husband Bill Hayes and I were up for the role of Doug Williams. We were the two finalists. I'd done the Lassie show and I wasn't ready for another contract. Bill was hired for that part. Then, I was cast as Don. Thirteen years later, I was still there. I believe that you have to bring something palatable for the audience to digest on a long-term basis. You don't cheat it, but you find a way to add more layers. C.C. Capwell, which I think was probably the best part that I ever played, had a lot of layers, too.
How did it come about that you left Days and played C.C. Capwell on Santa Barbara?
I wanted to be on Santa Barbara before the show was even on the air. I asked to have a shot at it. They asked me to audition even though I'd been on NBC daytime for 13 years at the time. They looked at a lot of people and then they asked me to audition. I tested with Judith McConnell [who played Sophia, C.C.'s wife]. She was terrific. Five weeks later, they still hadn't decided if I had the part. I went to Europe for a while. They called me back and asked me to test again. I came back [and got the part]. I had freedom on Santa Barbara. I wouldn't say that I had power, but I had input into the character. I would never impose my will, but I would certainly suggest things and suggestions were listened to.
Santa Barbara ran out of time before C.C. and Sophia could remarry.
Yes. But they were together as a couple at the end. I think the audience knew that they'd be together.
Was there any talk of a Santa Barbara reunion movie ever happening?
No. But the show does continue to air internationally. I still go to Russia and some of the other countries where the show still airs.
Was anyone expecting the show's international success?
No. It was mind-boggling when that happened. It was incredible. We'd have to have bodyguards when we traveled to some countries. We couldn't walk the streets. (Chuckles) Your ego would be kicked up quite a bit when you'd go abroad. It was like night and day. You'd come home and everything would go back to normal. Over the years, I was able to see a lot of the world including Hong Kong, Australia, Poland, Sweden, Norway and many other countries.
How have you seen the soap medium change since you first appeared on Love of Life?
To be honest with you, it really hasn't. What's changed is the speed in which storylines are told. They move faster. Shows are basically shot the same way. The openings are sharper. I'd like to see things done differently in terms of direction. It'd be great to shoot the actors as they're moving along [like they do in prime-time shows]. But there are time limits and other constraints. Still, people won't know what they can change until they try. The core thesis of daytime drama in terms of characters and storylines has remained the same. One thing that I've noticed that's different on some shows is that there's not one core family like there used to be. There needs to be a center to the wheel. A show needs to revolve around one family.
Like the Capwells?
Yes, and like the Hortons [on Days], too. Or like any of the other families on soaps. I think there are ways to make shows sophisticated. I think the audience has become more sophisticated.
Santa Barbara had been under a cloud of cancellation for quite some time before it happened.
It never should have happened. It should be on the air until this day. It wasn't just [the low ratings] that contributed to the cancellation. There was inside fighting and lawsuits. A lot of people lost their jobs and stability. We should have stayed on for at least another ten years.[www. tvguide.com]

 

Summary